


Evergreen

by css1992



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Age Difference, Aged-Up Peter Parker, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Break Up, Fluff, Getting Together, M/M, No Spoilers, Older Man/Younger Man, Post-Break Up, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-17
Updated: 2019-05-17
Packaged: 2020-03-06 15:02:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,517
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18853459
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/css1992/pseuds/css1992
Summary: Tony knew it wasn’t supposed to last. Peter was young, he had his whole life ahead of him. He would meet new people, live new experiences and forget all about his first love. But Tony - he would always cherish the memories of their time together, he would always hold them close to his heart and think of the boy even if he was sure that Peter wouldn't think of him.But what if they met again?





	1. Part I

**Author's Note:**

> There are four parts to this (I don't really consider them chapters). The first one is like a prologue and the last one is like an epilogue. So promise me not to give up on this before you’ve reached the second part? <3

Tony knew it wasn’t supposed to last.

When he met Peter for the first time, the boy had just turned 18 – he was a freshman at MIT, young and bright, and so eager to learn. He kept asking question after question, as if challenging Tony, as if he expected the older man to run out of explanations, only to be delighted when the genius gave him all the answers he was looking for. Tony was a guest speaker at MIT that day and he was so impressed by the young man’s wit, he even stayed for a little longer than he had planned to, well aware that he would be late for a meeting later in the day.

When Tony invited him for coffee, he really wasn’t trying to flirt with him or anything, he just wanted to pick his brain. Tony had just broken up with Pepper – for the millionth time – and even though he was sure that time was definitive, he was still healing, it had been just a few months. Besides, it had been ages since the last time he felt attracted to a man and, if he was honest with himself, Peter was barely a man at the time, he was just a boy.

A beautiful boy, yes – with expressive, deep, brown eyes; curly, brown hair and soft-looking, pink lips – but a boy nonetheless. Tony used to like them young back in his playboy days, but he had never bedded anyone younger than 21 – not that he was aware of, anyway.

The thing was, the older man wasn’t interested in Peter at first, even though he could admit that the boy was really attractive and smart. He invited him for coffee, they talked about Peter’s project for an adhesivefluid much like a spider web, that sounded brilliant and should be useful even for Stark Industries in the future, and then they both went their separate ways.

Still, for some reason Tony couldn’t really explain, he couldn’t stop thinking about the boy several days later. It happened randomly – he would be talking to someone and, suddenly, their curly hair would remind him of Peter’s; maybe something about their laugh would make him think of the high pitched sound the boy would make after one of Tony’s acid jokes. If he saw a spider web somewhere, he would be remindedof the brilliant project the boy had told him about, and how much promise it heldfor the future.

So he actually made an effort to look for a reason to be in Boston, Massachussets, the following month, which made Pepper raise her eyebrows past her hairline, but she didn’t ask any questions and, at the time, Tony wouldn’t have been able to give her any answers. He didn’t really know what he was doing going after an 18 year old boy in another state, but he was Tony Stark, right? Act first, think later.

So he looked for Peter, invited him for another coffee, they exchanged phone numbers and kept talking for a couple of months. From that second coffee date, though, Tony figured out exactly what was going on, what he was feeling and what he was doing. And as he tried to talk himself out of it, he also kept talking to Peter Parker – which: bad idea.

So he couldn’t really avoid it, in the end. He knew it wasn’t gonna last, but he had to see it through.

After they made it official, Tony took it seriously and he told all the important people in his life about it. He told Rhodey first, who was a mixture of disappointed, unstartled and worried for his best friend. He told Tony he wasn’t 30 anymore and that it was really weird for 40 year old men to date 18 year old boys. He told him it was a really bad fucking idea if he was doing it just for fun, he said that if that was the case, he could have gone a little older - _“_ _L_ _ike, I don’t know, at least 25?”._ When Tony told him it wasn’t just for fun, that he actually _loved_ the kid, Rhodey clasped a hand on his shoulder and pursed his lips. _“Oh, Tones. That’s_ _an even worse_ _fucking idea.”_

He also felt the need to tell Pepper. They had broken up barely six months prior, but they were still friends, she was still the CEO of his company and – well, he just had to tell her. She was shocked and downright pissed at first, _“A child, Tony, he’s a_ _fucking_ _child, he has no idea what he’s_ _getting himself into_ _, you’re taking advantage of him!”._ But then, after Tony managed to explain that he couldn’t help it, he was in love with the kid, she was sad for him. As if she also knew that he would end up getting hurt, inevitably.

On Peter’s part, things didn’t go so great either. He told his aunt first and she was beyond furious – she demanded that Peter broke up with Tony and, after he refused, she wouldn’t talk to him for two weeks. They eventually made up, but she didn’t accept their relationship, she never did. In the end, Tony never got to meet her properly and, when the holidays rolled around, he couldn’t even spend it with the boy, because she couldn’t bear to be in the same room with him.

As for Peter’s friends, they were just slightly weirded out by the age-gap, but they weren’t against it or anything. Still, Tony couldn’t help but feel a little out of place whenever they all hung out together, like he was chaperoning a school field trip or something.

To be fair, Peter didn’t really like going out with Tony’s friends either. Rhodey and Pepper were always a little patronizing, they treated him like a child, like he couldn’t handle or couldn’t understand things properly. They would bring up stories from the past, from a time when Peter wasn’t even born yet, and then act like: _“Oh, right, you wouldn’t_ _know_ _, you were in diapers at the time”._

So, all things considered, they just hung out with each other a lot, other people were rarely involved.

To make matters worse, the media kept calling Peter “Stark’s new boy-toy” and “gold digger”; they kept saying the young man was with him only for his power and influence, specially after they found out Peter was studying to become an engineer as well. The boy pretended he didn’t care, he rarely ever talked about it, but it was clear that he was deeply affected by some of the things that were said about him – he never complained, though, not even once.

Not everything was mess, though. Actually, most of it was just – _good_. So good. Tony knew he was Peter’s first boyfriend, before him he had just kissed a few girls, back when he was still trying to hide his sexuality. Tony was the first man he had ever been with and, knowing that, he wanted to make it a memorable experience for Peter. He was the perfect boyfriend – although he considered himself a little too old to be anybody’s _boy_ friend, but whatever – what with the flowers and chocolates on valentine’s day; the numerous dates that involved dinners, movies, milkshakes, ice-creams, long walks on the beach (the park, actually, holding hands and everything); the spur-of-the-moment weekend getaways; the perfectly planned anniversaries – he was just _perfect_.

Despite his sarcastic and careless nature, Tony tried to be extra sweet with Peter. He gave him time and space when needed, which was why their first time took forever – almost four months, which was four months too long for Tony’s standard – and when it happened, Tony made sure it was a night to remember. It started with a nice, homemade dinner – not homemade _by Tony_ himself, of course, but homemade nonetheless – and some fine wine, even though the older man felt bad offering Peter alcohol, he _was_ underage after all, but they did have wine and champagne occasionally, if they were celebrating.

Peter was fully relaxed by the time they moved to the couch, making out like two teenagers in love – which, well, Peter was – and, after that, they moved to the bedroom, and Tony took his sweet, sweet time, and if the sounds the younger man made were anything to go by, that night had been unforgettable for him, just as the older man had planned.

Sometimes it was easy to forget that Peter was so young. They would have long conversations about physics, chemistry, even engineering, and he could keep up like a pro – and Tony was literally a certified genius with several PhDs, so that was saying something. Sometimes Peter sounded so mature and wise, Tony was suddenly reminded of how hard a life he had had.

His parents died when he was just a kid, then his uncle died not many years later and it was just him and his aunt struggling trough life, with barely enough money to get by. He had to start working part time jobs at a young age to try and help around the house and he worked extra hard in school in order to get a full scholarship for college. So Peter didn’t really have time to be a kid or a teenager, he was forced to grow up early and sometimes it showed.

Some other times, though, Peter’s youth was so painfully obvious it made Tony feel guilty – was he stealing the boy’s innocence? Was he a creepy old man preying on a young, innocent boy? Peter still played with Legos, for Christ’s sake, he got excited about video games and superheroes, he didn’t have to shave and he couldn’t even drink yet! It was… unsettling.

Yet most of the time he found perfect balance. He was fun and carefree as a young man should be, but he was also responsible and mature when needed – he was even more mature than Tony, which wasn’t saying much, but still.

They had their first fight only six months into the relationship. Peter had been frustrated with finals and they hadn’t seen each other in a while – they did live in different states and, although they were only an hour flight away, Tony was a very busy man and Peter had classes, and projects, and tests, so it wasn’t like they were seeing each other every weekend. So the boy tried to talk to Tony about it – about how he missed him and how he wished they could see each other more often – but the older man had had a rough day and he was tired, he just wanted to spend a quiet night in with his boyfriend, he really wasn’t in the mood to talk. So when Peter brought it up, he just dismissed him and said something along the lines of: _“_ _Stop being_ _so needy, it’s unattractive”._

It was the first time Tony made Peter cry, and he hated it – he hated it so, so much, he couldn’t bear the thought of ever being the cause of those tears ever again. He comforted him, held him close to his chest, apologizing and making promises he would have a very hard time keeping, but he sure as hell wasn’t about to break them. So Tony bought an apartment in Boston just outside of campus to be closer to Peter. It was nowhere near his standards and it could never compare to his penthouse in New York or his mansion in Malibu, but it was very cozy and it made Peter feel comfortable and at ease, like he wasn’t dating an eccentric billionaire. It had three bedrooms, a spacious, open kitchen and a nice living room.

Tony made it a point to visit every week, whenever he had time, even if it was just for one night, and Peter would make an effort to meet him in the apartment whenever the older man was in town. They made that little apartment a home, a few days at a time. Ten months later, their belongings were scattered everywhere, their clothes were mixed in the closet, Tony’s favorite colors decorated the living room, Peter’s favorite shampoo was always stocked in the bathroom, life was good – so, so good, Tony almost forgot it wasn’t supposed to last.

He saw it coming, though, slowly but surely. One year and a half into the relationship, Peter started growing away from Tony. He wouldn’t make as much of an effort to meet him when he was in town, sometimes his shampoo was missing from the bathroom, he would take longer to answer texts, he didn’t always pick up the phone, he didn’t keep that many clothes in the closet. He always had a good excuse, though – tests, midterms, finals, projects, laundry day – until he didn’t.

He made new friends, he started going out more, going to more parties, meeting new people. He told Tony all about it and, of course, the older man was so happy that he got to live the full college experience, but, at the same time, he knew it was the beginning of the end. There wasn’t really room for Tony in Peter’s new life, he couldn’t exactly go to frat parties with him, or hang out with his group of friends on campus, and Peter didn’t really want to go to all the functions Tony had to attend, neither did he get along with Tony’s friends. Their relationship only worked in their perfect little world inside that apartment, but it became too small for Peter as he began to grow up.

So Tony wasn’t really surprised when he got home one day – _home_ , that was the place he considered home at the time, and when he told Peter that, he answered, sweetly _“_ _h_ _ome isn’t a place, Tony”_ –, almost two years into the relationship, and Peter sat on the couch looking fucking _miserable_. Tony just knew then, could read it his eyes, Peter didn’t have to say a word – but he did. He cried a lot and apologized profusely, he told him, with no easy words, that he thought he didn’t love him anymore. Tony sat beside him, pulled him into his lap, let him cry on his shoulder and told him that it was okay, it was fine. Everything was gonna be okay.

The older man waited for him to calm down, made him some tea, told him that, _yes, of course we can still be friends,_ and waited for Peter to leave until he finally allowed himself a few tears, knowing full well that that had been the last time they were together in that apartment, their perfect little world. Knowing full well that, no, they wouldn’t be friends, they would move on with their lives and meet other peoplebut, hopefully, Peter would always cherish all those memories of his first love. Tony was happy to think that, maybe, the boy would remember him forever – just like the older man would always remember his young lover, the sweet boy who made his life soft and breezy, if just for a little while.


	2. Part II

Tony still thought about him. Constantly.

A he got older, it became harder for him to forget about people he loved, that’s why it took forever for him and Pepper to break up for good – they kept trying and trying, but they still loved each other, it just didn’t work between them, they spent four years breaking up and getting back together until it was over for good. He thought it was karma, you see, because when he was younger he would forget about people in a matter of weeks – breaking hearts and hurting people as he went.

Tony could hardly remember the names of half the people he claimed to love in his youth. But once he grew older, it just – it took longer for him to forget about people. So, sure, six years later, Tony still thought of him constantly. The thing was, when he remembered Peter Parker, he thought of a wide-eyed, round-cheeked, scrawny kid, not this gorgeous young man before him.

“Mr. Stark.” He greeted him with a sweet, familiar, half smile. Peter looked beautiful in a dark blue suit; it fitted him perfectly, showing off lean muscles that definitely weren’t there years ago. His face looked different too, but somehow it was like no time had passed. His features were sharper now, well defined, all traces of that childhood roundness gone; but he still had that smooth, hairless, baby skin; he still had the same soft curls; he wasn’t much taller, still stood a couple inches shorter than Tony, but somehow he looked like a man, now. All grown up and just gorgeous.

“Mr. Parker, you look great.” Tony greeted back, smoothly, making sure to not let it show on his face how shaken he was. He was Tony Stark, he didn’t do _shaken_.

“You don’t look so bad yourself.” His smirk was shy and playful and, for whatever reason, Tony feltself-conscious right then. It occurred to him that Peter was a 26 year old man now, and, of course, he was even more beautiful than he already was at 18. But Tony – he was 48. He still considered himself a handsome man, he wasn’t blind, and different magazines kept electing him “sexiest man alive” every other year. But still, right then and there, in front of Peter, his Peter, he worried that he looked old and unattractive to the younger man.

“I try.” He gave him his trademark, charming smile, and the younger man blushed, averting his gaze with a shy smile. Tony preened on the fact that he still had that effect on him. “How’s life treating you? You doing okay?” The older man remembered that Peter had graduated a few years prior, he got an invitation to the ceremony. He didn’t go, of course, but he did send him a Stark laptop as a graduation gift and made sure he got an offer to work for Stark Industries. Unsurprisingly, Peter refused.

“Yeah, sure, I started working for Oscorp right out of college, they’re great. Felt good to come back home after so long. May was really happy, as you can imagine.” Peter rolled his eyes good-naturedly, a playful smile on his face.

“I’m disappointed you turned down Stark Industries to work for the competition. That shit hurts, kid.” Tony was only half joking. Although he knew it would be weird for Peter to work for his ex-boyfriend, it wasn’t like they would see each other everyday – or at all, for that matter. “You keep breaking my heart, I don’t know what I ever did to deserve this.” It was out of his mouth before he could think properly – as usual. He kept a neutral face, but Peter blushed a bright red, averting his gaze to stare at the floor.

“Tony…” Hearing his name coming out of those lips for the first time in so many years almost broke something inside of Tony, but he tried not to let it show. Again, the younger man was flushed and he looked like he was about to apologize or something, so Tony interrupted him.

“I’m joking, kid, lighten up.” He immediately snatched two champagne glasses from a waiter who was passing by. For the few minutes that that conversation took place, Tony almost forgot where they were – at a charity event for whatever good cause. The last place he thought he’d run into Peter Parker, ever. “Here, now I don’t need to feel like a criminal handing you one of those.” He smirked, giving him a champagne glass.

“Are you trying to get me drunk, Mr. Stark?” Peter narrowed his eyes playfully, looking at him from under his lashes and Tony felt something boiling inside his stomach.

“Do I need to, Mr. Parker?” He cocked his head to the side, feeling extra confident when Peter’s whole face turned bright red – yet again. That had got to be a record. Peter took a long sip from his champagne glass and coughed a little. “What are you doing here, anyway? I thought you hated these.” The boy rarely ever accompanied Tony at functions when they were together, but then again, at the time, the media used to have a field day talking shit about Peter when he did.

“Yeah, I do, but Mr. Osborn wanted me to meet a few people, so… This is kind of a work thing? I guess.” He shrugged, unsure, looking around the room as if looking for said people, before setting his brown eyes back on Tony, who was smiling sincerely now. “What?”

“Look at you, all grown up, doing ‘work things’.” He smiled into his champagne glass, as Peter rolled his eyes good-naturedly. “I’m glad to see you’re doing okay.”

“I could say the same.” Peter returned the smile. “Congratulations on the Arc Reactor, by the way! My god, Tony, sometimes I forget you’re a genius, Jesus Christ! That one is a game changer.” He looked genuinely impressed and proud, and Tony preened on the compliments.

“I appreciate it, you know I’ve always valued your opinion.” The older man smiled softly and Peter looked like he was about to say something, only to be interrupted but another young man who appeared behind him, wrapping an arm around his waist. Tony raised his eyebrows, stomach sinking. _Of course he’s not_ _alone_ _._ _Of fucking course._

“Hey, Pete, dad wants to introduce you to a few people.” Immediately, Tony recognized him as Norman Osborn’s boy. He vaguely remembered him from other events. He was taller than Peter, all lean muscles and striking features. He had a killer, charming smile and well defined eyebrows, and he looked at Tony like he wasn’t the most important man in the room – which he was, by the way. “Oh, Mr. Stark, I’m sorry, I didn’t see you there. How are you?” He extended his hand and Tony gripped it a little tighter than necessary.

“I’m great, thanks, Mr. Osborn.” He kept stealing glances at the hand on Peter’s waist, but neither of them seemed aware of his actions.

“Harry, you can go ahead, I’ll be right there, ok?” Peter smiled at the other man and he raised an eyebrow, but said nothing. He turned back to Tony with another charming smile.

“It was a pleasure, Mr. Stark.” Then he looked back at Peter. “Don’t take too long, ok?” Peter just nodded with a smile. “Sure”. Harry left them alone and Tony felt like he could breathe again. He wasn’t sure if they were together or if they were just good friends, but they looked pretty close. “So…” Peter started again, bringing Tony back to reality.

“Yes, Pete?” It felt good to say the name out loud again. For years, all he could do was just think about it, not daring to say the word, and now he could finally do it and it tasted fucking sweet rolling out of his tongue. Peter blushed again, gasping softly.

“I heard you moved back to New York?” He commented uncertainly and Tony was taken a little by surprise by the change of topic, but smiled anyway, shrugging.

“I never really left, I just moved back to Malibu for a while to oversee the Arc Reactor operation, but I don’t belong there anymore. New York is my home, has been for several years now.”

“Oh, cool. Cool.” Peter looked at his feet for a few seconds, before drawing in a breath and raising his gaze back to Tony’s eyes. “You know, my number’s still the same.” He blurted out, much to Tony’s surprise. “So, like… If you wanna do something, you know, like… Catch up, or… You know. Talk more? Just. You know. You have my number. Or maybe you don’t anymore? But I could give it to you. My number. In case you wanna, like, grab coffee or. You know. Talk.” Tony chuckled softly, his heart beating fast and loudly, not quite believing how much he’d missed the boy’s rambling.

“I still have your number and I might just take you up on that offer, Mr. Parker.” Tony raised his eyebrows and Peter gave him a soft smile.

“Peter. Call me Peter, please.” He said, looking directly into the older man’s eyes. Tony smiled.

“I’ll see you later, Peter Parker.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you enjoyed it, please leave a comment, it would make my day! <3


	3. Part III

It actually took Tony all of two weeks to call Peter.

He had to think it through. He was a lonely, 48 year old man who wasn’t really interested in casual relationships anymore – he had done more than enough of that, he wanted to settle down, he really did. He figured Peter wasn’t looking for anything casual either – considering their history, it was unlikely that he would just ask him out for a one night stand. The problem remained the same from six years ago, though: Peter was 22 years younger than Tony. And even though he was fully grown up now, he was still really young – at his age, Tony was literally fucking ten people a week.

Sure, Peter wasn’t necessarily like Tony – actually, he obviously wasn’t. Peter was sweet, and kind, and romantic, and he always talked about marriage, and settling down, and having kids, even when he was only 18. He even had names picked out for their future children, that’s how precious he was. Still, he broke up with Tony because he didn’t love him anymore and the feeling had lasted for so little time. So maybe they were doomed to the same fate again, maybe young, sweet Peter would just run out of love again – and Tony was too fucking old for that shit, really, he couldn’t do it again.

But then he remembered all the good memories he had with the younger man, he remembered how his life used to feel lighter, happier, during that small period of time. He remembered that even when he was _heartbroken_ he couldn’t regret his decision to start dating Peter. If he were to go back in time, he would do it again. He would go through the heartbreak and the suffering that followed their break up if it meant that he could keep all those good memories, if it meant that he could be happy for those two years.

So that’s what made him call two weeks later, after being holed up in his workshop for almost 72 hours straight. Strangely, the marathon was what triggered that line of thought, because he remembered that whenever Peter had time off of school and came back to New York, they would spend hours, sometimes days, holed up together in the workshop. They would literally set up camp there, they would work for hours on end, surviving on coffee and protein bars, then they would fuck on the floor on top of some dirty, old throw blanket from the couch, then they would snooze there for a couple of hours and repeat everything over and over again. Tony wasn’t saying it was healthy, it was just a really good fucking memory.

So he called Peter and the young man sounded really surprised to hear from him.

“I thought you weren’t gonna call anymore.” He confessed, quietly, and Tony’s heart ached at the small, hurt voice.

“Not gonna lie to you, I had to figure some things out before I could call. Besides, I’m a very busy man, Mr. Parker, c’mon, you know that.”

“Stop calling me Mr. Parker, Tony, you sound like my boss. God.” He could almost hear the younger man rolling his eyes on the other end of the line and he chuckled. “I’m gonna start calling you Mr. Stark, let’s see how you like it.”

“Well, joke’s on you, it would just turn me on, so be my guest, sweetheart.” Tony could imagine his blushing face perfectly and it was so funny because they used to have sex, for crying out loud.

“You’re impossible.” He sighed, but Tony could hear the laugh in his voice. “You haven’t changed a bit.”

“You wish I had?” He was only half joking. Tony was definitely not an insecure man, but he couldn’t help feeling a little unsure around Peter.

“God, no.” He answered quickly, laughing. “You’re impossible, but I guess that’s what makes you _you_.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment.” Tony smiled to himself.

“You should.” To his own surprise, the older man blushed faintly at the confession, but he recovered quickly.

“So, I actually didn’t call just to flirt over the phone, you know. I was wondering if you would be up for dinner anytime this week?” He tried to sound casual, like the answer didn’t matter, but his fingers were trembling slightly on top of his workbench.

“Yeah, of course. Sure. I’m free. Yes.” The answer came quickly as Peter stumbled over the words, sounding nervous and anxious. Tony chuckled, shaking his head slightly.

“Okay, got it. When?” Feeling confident now, he straightened his back and started planning the date in his head.

“Well, you’re the busy businessman who owns a company, I’m just a working bee. Just tell me when and where and I’ll make it work.” Peter sounded a _little_ less nervous now as well, like both of them finally figured out they were on the same page.

“Now that’s exactly what I like to hear, Petey Pie. How about Thursday, say, at seven?“

“It’s a date.” He answered quickly, only to realize what he said a couple of seconds later. “I-I mean...”

“It’s a date, sweet cheeks. Just send me the address and I’ll pick you up.” Tony was still smiling several minutes after the phone call, so he felt like he made the right choice.

The week went by slowly, they didn’t talk again until Thursday, when Peter texted the older man to confirm the date. At 06:50, Tony parked his car in front of a nice apartment building in Midtown. He thought about the suit Peter was wearing the other night and then he remembered where he used to live with his aunt in Queens – it was such a tiny, old apartment, with really old furniture. But this looked nice. Apparently, Peter was doing great, and Tony felt strangely proud, he had always thought the teen _needed_ him, but he proved him wrong. He made it. All by himself.

Precisely at seven, he texted the younger man who replied almost immediately, saying he would be right down. Not even two minutes later, he was rushing through the front door, a big smile on his face. He was wearing well-fitting, dark blue jeans, a white button down shirt with two buttons undone and a slim, gray jacket. He looked amazing and stylish and not at all like the nerdy kid Tony used to date.

Still the perfect gentleman, of course, the older man got out of the car and opened the door for him, earning himself a blush and a muttered thank you.

“Well, I gotta say I’m pretty impressed right now, Pete.” Tony said as a way of greeting as he started to drive, eyeing Peter briefly. “I almost thought you would show up in worn out jeans and a hoodie.”

“Well, you see, I used to date this fashionable billionaire a while back, he taught me a thing or two.” He answered cheekily, turning to look at Tony. “Although, you’d think he would have told me that I used to look like a dork when we were dating, but whatever.”

“A dork? Never!” Tony replied, faking an undignified gasp. “Adorable? Yes. Lovely? Absolutely. Cute? All the time. You never looked like a dork, tough, whoever told you that is just wrong and deserves to be punished.” Peter chuckled and shook his head, flushing, but he kept looking at the older man who was now focused on the road.

“You’re so silly.” Tony just smiled at him and kept driving.

They made small talk on their way to the restaurant and, slowly, Peter seemed to figure out where they were going. He blushed and had a far away look the rest of the way, and Tony smiled to himself. They were going to a little Italian restaurant, the one where they had their first official date, almost eight years earlier. They had gone out for coffee two times before and they had been talking on the phone for over two months. That weekend, Peter had come to New York to visit his aunt so Tony invited him to dinner. It was the perfect first date, the older man even drove the boy home at the end of the night, walked him to the door and kissed him chastely on the lips on his doorstep.

When they arrived at the restaurant, Tony didn’t even have to say his name, the staff was already tripping over themselves to accommodate them at the best table and Peter looked amused, so differently from when he was younger and was so embarrassed by all the attention. Once they were seated, Tony ordered some fine wine and an appetizer, then he turned to Peter once the wine was served and the waiter left them.

“So, tell more about what you’ve been doing for the past few years. I feel a little at a disadvantage here, since you could easily find out about everything I’ve been doing just by googling me.” Tony rolled his eyes and Peter giggled, taking a sip from his wine.

“Well… Not really much to tell, actually. I graduated a few years ago, you didn’t show up, by the way, but that’s okay. I actually googled it at the time and you were in China, so you’re forgiven.” He smirked playfully. “Let’s see… I started interning for Oscorp right after we… You know.” He blushed, averting his eyes. “I worked really hard, so they hired me right out of college.”

“You seem to be doing pretty well, by the way. That looked like a really nice apartment.” Peter actually grinned at that, nodding.

“I know, right? I actually got a _very_ good deal at Oscorp. I had a few other job offers as soon as I graduated, including SI’s – and your offer was ridiculous, by the way.” Peter glared at him pointedly and Tony raised his hands in surrender, but he had a tiny smile on his face. “Anyway, with other good offers on the table, I was able to secure a pretty good deal with them. Aunt May was over the moon, she was so proud. She still lives with me, by the way, she could barely contain herself when we moved to the new apartment.” He grinned, rolling his eyes slightly.

“I’m really happy for you, Pete, and really, really proud. I always knew you would achieve great things, you’re one of the smartest people I know, and I’m friends with Bruce Banner, so.” Tony smiled sincerely, a soft look on his face. Peter smiled back and held his gaze, nodding slightly.

“Thank you, Tony. I hope you realize how important you were in all of this. You believed so much in me, it made me believe in myself.” Tony said nothing, but his whole body felt warm at those words, he figured it showed on his face.

The waiter chose that moment to reappear and ask them if they were ready to order the main course. Peter just looked at Tony, as he used to do, expecting him to order for the both of them. The older man smiled and obliged, ordering almost exactly what they had on their first date, the only difference was that now Peter could have wine instead of grape juice.

“You see, I did google you...” Once the waiter left, Peter started again, flushing slightly, and Tony raised an eyebrow. “So… You actually got married, huh?”

Tony groaned and shut his eyes, almost embarrassed. He really wanted to forget that stupid, stupid period of his life. He looked back at Peter and he seemed curious and slightly confused, so he just waved his hand and sighed.

“That was really stupid. I think I told you about her at some point? Sunset Bain?” Peter shook his head silently and Tony sighed again. “We went to MIT together, she was a little older than me, and I was so in love with her… Anyway, she thought I was too young at the time, so nothing happened. We met again right after you broke up with me.” Peter actually looked ashamed whenever one of them brought up the break up and Tony found it somewhat amusing. “Our relationship was almost like a business transaction, you know, she’s the CEO of Baintronics and we were doing business at the time. It seemed like a good idea, you know. Turns out it wasn’t.”

“Well, I’m sorry. I know divorces can get really messy and stressful, specially when there’s no privacy and it’s all over the news.” Peter actually looked sympathetic, so Tony waved it off.

“No worries, we had a hell of a good prenup. It all worked out perfectly in the end.” He smirked. Peter didn’t look very convinced, but he still didn’t say anything.

Sunset wasn’t a bad person, she was just very _egocentric_. Tony was known by the media as a selfish, arrogant asshole, but in reality he actually cared about the people closest to him and would do anything to make them happy and to keep them safe. Sunset was the opposite of that. She put herself first and couldn’t care less if somebody else got hurt because of it. Besides, she didn’t really like it when Tony tried to take care of her, she was always distant and cold, and, to top it all off, the sex was non-existent.

They were divorced for two years already and hadn’t talked ever since.

“Well, again, I feel like I’m at a disadvantage here. My love life is all over the news, what about yours, huh?” Tony’s love life in the past six years consisted of a 3 years long marriage and a few flings that didn’t really last.

“Oh, God.” Peter turned bright red and laughed a little, trying to cover his face. Tony raised an eyebrow, amused, and Peter took a deep breath. “Well, as it turns out, you actually ruined relationships for me. You know.” He looked pointedly at the older man.

“No, I don’t know, do tell me.” He smiled cockily, leaning back on his chair, and Peter rolled his eyes, still bright red.

“You were my first boyfriend and you were.. Like… A fucking Disney prince!” Peter narrowed his eyes, looking annoyed, and Tony couldn’t help but laugh out loud, surprised by the revelation. “So, you know… I thought everybody was like that, but apparently college boys don’t really do flowers, and dinners, and anniversaries…” Peter chuckled, feeling ridiculous. “God, right after you, I dated this frat guy, Wade, he was an asshole, I swear to God. He actually took me to a drive-thru on our first date and he tried to get into my pants in the back of his car, like, thirty minutes into the date. His fingers were still greasy from the fries. I was horrified!”

Tony was laughing openly now, imagining the whole thing. He couldn’t deny feeling a little jealous of the guy touching his Peter so soon after they broke up and he was actually glad it was such a horrible experience. Did that make him petty and a terrible person?

“Anyway, it got a little better, you know, they weren’t all _that_ bad.” Peter continued, still laughing a little and drying a few tears from the corner of his eyes. “I had a few flings after that, and two serious boyfriends, but no Disney princes, you know.” He smiled at the older man, who was still recovering from his laughing fit, and he looked pleased.

“Did you have fun, though?” He asked, attracting a slightly confused stare from Peter. “I always worried, you know. You were so young, hanging out with such an old man. We were cooped up in that apartment all the time. I was afraid you would miss out on things, like the whole dating experience, college parties, underage drinking, you know. The good stuff. So. Did you have fun with these horrifying college boys? Did you have fun doing stupid stuff and stupid people?”

Peter stared at him with a knowing gaze until he finally smiled a little, sighing.

“Yes. Yes, I did. I’m glad I got to do all those things, I’m glad I got to experience all of that, ‘cause I know better now. I would never take what we had for granted again, you know. Not anymore.”

“You didn’t take it for granted, you never did. You were a fucking ray of sunshine in my life, kid. You were my Disney Princess.” Tony smirked, trying to lighten up the mood. “You made me happy, Pete. One word from you would brighten up my whole day.”

“Yeah, but then I broke your heart.” He replied, looking directly in Tony’s eyes. “I took you for granted and I threw away what we had.”

“Peter, come on, you were 18. We were in a really serious relationship back then, we practically lived together for a few months there. It must have been scary as hell, thinking that that was the only thing you’d ever know, that that was your whole life. What we had, it was good, but it wasn’t new anymore. You needed new experiences.”

“How do you know all of that? I never told you any of that.” The younger man looked a little surprised and a little embarrassed, but the older man only smirked.

“It might have been a long time ago, but I was young once, you know.”

“Stop with the old man act, it doesn’t even suit you.” Peter narrowed his eyes and Tony laughed a little. “But I think you’re right. I told you I didn’t love you anymore. And I thought I didn’t, I really did, but I think I was… bored. I don’t know. A year later I heard you got married and I was so… Jealous. I felt like and idiot.”

“I guess it was the healthiest thing you could have done at the time, you know. You were a teenager having your first relationship with a much older man, your aunt hated me, you didn’t get along with my friends, I didn’t get along with yours, you were constantly bashed by media, our relationship was exposed for anyone to see... You had a really hard time. It was actually amazing how long it lasted.”

“It was pretty crazy, right?” Peter scrunched up his nose, amused. “It’s funny, ‘cause when you put it like this, it sounds insane and impossible but it didn’t feel like that at all, right? It felt peaceful most of the time.” Peter shrugged and Tony smiled, deciding not to tell him how much he tried to shelter him, how hard he worked with his legal team to keep him out of the media, how much effort it took to actually be in Boston at least once a week, how much shit he had to take from people around him who called him a fucking pedophile. Peter probably didn’t even know that his aunt once came to Stark Industries headquarters to yell at him and everyone who witnessed the scene had to sign an NDA to keep it out of the news. Peter didn’t have to know any of that, though, it was all in the past.

“So, what about this Osborn kid? Is there a something there, or…?” The older man changed the subject abruptly, taking Peter by surprise.

“Nah, we’re just friends, besides, he’s straight as an arrow.” The younger man rolled his eyes and, for some reason, Tony thought there was a story there, but he didn’t push. Maybe he didn’t want to know, anyway.

“Yeah, kid, nobody’s straight as an arrow, trust me.” Tony looked pointedly at him and Peter giggled behind his hand. “Anyway, you two seemed pretty cozy at the charity. I’m just asking because I don’t wanna get in the middle of anything, you know. I’m kinda old for teenage drama.”

“Okay, first of all: definitely not a teenager anymore.” Peter gestured to himself as if to make a point and Tony stared at him darkly, licking his lips. Peter rolled his eyes, but a satisfied grin stretched across his lips. “Second of all – we’re just friends, really. No history. He’s just… overprotective? I never really told him about us, you know. So he probably believes what the media said at the time: that you dumped me for Sunset, that you cheated on me, that you’re a pig, etc.”

“Well, I’m glad you have someone looking out for you.” Tony shrugged and Peter shook his head.

“I don’t _need_ it, of course, but Harry is cool. You’d like him, he’s really smart.” Tony didn’t think he would like a guy who most certainly had some kind of crush for Peter, but he wasn’t about to tell him that. “Anyway, he has this girlfriend, her name is Mary Jane, but everyone calls her MJ, so now I have two MJs in my friend group. So weird, right?’

The dinner went on for hours, one subject leading to the other as the food grew cold, ignored in front of them. They drank two whole bottles of wine and, while Tony was perfectly fine, used to drinking much heavier stuff, Peter was definitely a little tipsy. So they switched to water when Tony ordered desert, they shared some panna cotta and finally headed back to his car. Tony didn’t want the night to end, so he started the car, but didn’t really do anything else, thinking of ways to prolong the date. He didn’t have time to suggest anything, though, because Peter was already talking again.

“So, I noticed you dyed your hair.” Peter looked up at somewhere above his eyes, and Tony actually blushed a little bit. He coughed slightly and ran a hand through the dark, thick locks, trying to hide the color of his cheeks.

“Yeah, yeah, make fun of your elders, it’s not disrespectful at all.” He had dyed his hair recently, he didn’t usually do it anymore, he kind of grew used to the gray strands mixed within the dark locks, but knowing that he was gonna meet Peter, his young, _young_ ex-lover… Yeah. He dyed it.

“Making fun?” Peter raised his eyebrows, biting his bottom lip. “I’m just a little disappointed, it’s all. I liked the whole silver fox thing you had going on at the charity.” He reached out and touched the older man’s hair, now he was the one looking rather flushed. “It suited you.”

 _Oh_. Now that was an interesting piece of information.

“I’ll remember that for future reference.” Tony smiled charmingly and leaned into the touch, feeling as the small, soft hand slid from his hair to the side of his face. He stared right into Peter’s eyes and he looked nervous and uncertain, but Tony could read him like an open book. He closed the distance between them, leaving only a few inches that were filled by their suddenly labored breaths and Peter just stared at his mouth. “I really wanna kiss you.” The older man whispered and his lips _almost_ touched the other’s, but didn’t.

“So do it.”

Kissing Peter tasted and felt exactly like he remembered – the kiss was sweet and gentle, but eager, full of promise, the perfect representation of everything he was. Kissing him again after all those years felt like coming home from a fucking long vacation that he couldn’t wait to be over. Tony reached out and touched his face, his hair, anywhere he could get his hands on, like a blind man eager to _see_.

The younger man pulled back just a little bit, their lips were still mostly touching, but he could look into the older man’s eyes as he spoke.

“Take me home?” Somehow, Tony knew he wasn’t talking about his place in Midtown with his aunt. For some reason, the first place that came to mind was their little apartment in Boston, but of course Peter didn’t mean that either. Finally, the older man remembered soft whispers in the morning light, wrapped up in bed with no intention to leave – “ _home isn’t a place, Tony.”_

“I promise no greasy fingers.” The older man joked, peppering kisses on the other’s lips and all over his face.

“Yeah, but I think I’d like _your_ greasy fingers.” Peter wiggled his eyebrows and laughed, startled, when the older man bit his chin.

Tony wasn’t sure what the future held, it could be more heartbreak. Maybe it wouldn't last, maybe Peter would run out of love just as quickly as the first time, maybe, in the end, they really weren’t supposed to last, no matter how many times they did this. But if he could have even a moment, a second, of the happiness that being with Peter once brought him, he would take the chance. He wanted to taste again how sweet life could be with the young man by his side.


	4. Part IV

Tony couldn’t believe his luck.

His whole life felt like a series of unfortunate events – he didn’t get along with his father, then he fucking died before they could make amends, leaving Tony with a guilty feeling inside of him that never really left as he grew up. Then, when he took over the company, he got kidnapped, tortured and almost killed by terrorists, only to find out that his fucking godfather was dealing his weapons on the black market and actually orchestrated the whole thing, before killing himself in prison – the man was like a father to him, more than Howard ever was, and Tony knew it made absolutely no sense, but he felt guilty about his death as well. Guilt was his thing, apparently.

After that, he thought he had found the love of his life in Pepper, he thought she could fix him, fix his crazy life, but for some reason they were no good for each other, no matter how hard they tried, it was like they were two mismatched puzzle pieces that just didn’t fit together. Tony thought maybe he was broken – it had to be his fault, Pepper was perfect, of course it was his fault. Then, he met Peter, the right person at the wrong time, only to be left heartbroken and wondering if he just wasn’t meant to be happy, after all. Finally, as some sort of self-inflicted punishment, he married a hateful woman who did not love him.

But now, for the first time in his life, he felt lucky – the luckiest man to ever live.

He watched Peter fussing over the table settings, as if it wasn’t perfect already, and then he went inside the kitchen. A few years earlier, Tony promised Peter he would build them a house upstate, somewhere quiet and peaceful where they could start a family. They had recently moved in and everything was still a little messy and it certainly wasn’t anything like the penthouse where they lived for years – it was better, so much better. It was big, but not overly so, and everything was decorated to suit each of their tastes, they had handpicked pretty much everything themselves – the furniture, the wallpapers, the paintings, the rugs. No interior designers, no architects, just them. It was cozy, homey and felt lived in – just like their little apartment in Boston.

His young husband emerged from the kitchen with a bottle of wine in one hand and two glasses in the other, looking gorgeous in a pale pink sweater and snug, dark jeans. They were expecting guests later in the evening for the housewarming party – more of a get together, really. Everyone was coming, though – May, Ned, MJ, Harry and the other MJ, Pepper and her husband, Happy, and Rhodey and his wife, Carol.

Peter was so happy that they finally got to have this, that they finally had their support. Shortly after they got back together, they had a long and stressful conversation with May. Even though Peter was already 26 at the time, she was still pissed that they had dated when he was a teenager, she didn’t trust Tony’s good intentions. Still, little by little, she started coming around, finally understanding that the older man never meant to take advantage of her nephew and that he was always respectful and mindful of his age. Besides, after a while she realized Tony wasn’t going anywhere, so she might as well warm up to him or she would lose her connection to Peter.

Pepper and Rhodey were actually embarrassed when they were reintroduced to Peter and apologized for their behavior in the past, they claimed they just weren’t used to hanging out with a teenager that wasn’t somebody’s kid. As for Peter’s friends, Tony didn’t feel weird around them anymore, besides they were all really smart and nice, which led to long and rather nerdy conversations whenever they got together.

Anyway, that night would be the first time they would be all together in one place and Peter was so excited to have them over that he could barely contain himself all day long. He kept asking Tony if he thought they needed more wine, or more beer, or more food, he kept tidying up things that didn’t need tidying up and redoing all the chores that the older man had already done – as asked by the young man himself. Peter was a ball of energy and just as lively as he had been when they first met, which amazed Tony. His husband was thirty one now and Tony was just getting used to the idea that maybe… Maybe this was gonna last, after all.

“Okay, I have an… announcement to make before everyone gets here.” Peter served two glasses of wine and Tony raised his eyebrows from the couch, curious, as the younger man approached and then sat carefully on his lap, handing him one the glasses.

“What is it, sweetheart?” The older man kissed his shoulder and nuzzled his neck. Whatever this announcement was, it seemed like a celebration, so Tony wasn’t really worried. Peter took a deep breath, closed his eyes for a few seconds, then looked inside the older man’s eyes.

“I’m ready.” He said, simply, and Tony just raised his eyebrows, confused.

“I’m gonna need a little more information than that, honey.” He ran his fingers through his husband’s perfect hair, amused, and Peter licked his lips nervously, making Tony worry just a little bit. “What is it, baby?”

“I’m ready to be a father. I’m ready to start a family.” He blurted out, finally, and the older man widened his eyes. Tony almost dropped his wine glass as he placed it on the coffee table before holding the boy’s face with both hands, almost reverently.

“Sweetheart...” Tony was speechless, he could barely think straight, let alone come up with something to say. That had to be a first. His eyes filled with tears, but he didn’t let them fall, he felt ridiculous and so, _so_ happy. “You make me the happiest man alive. Everyday. You never cease to amaze me. This is the best thing I’ve heard ever since you told me you loved me for the first time.”

“You’re such a sap.” Peter rolled his eyes but they too were brimming with tears. He left his own glass on the coffee table and turned to straddle the older man, wrapping his arms around his husband’s neck. Tony embraced his waist and rested his forehead against Peter’s and they just sat quietly for a minute, processing all those feelings, when Peter spoke up. “Do you think I’m gonna be a good dad?”

“Well, you’ve been taking very good care of me for the past five years, how hard could it be to take care of a smaller baby?” The older man teased, causing the other slap him lightly on the arm, laughing. “Of course you’re gonna be an awesome dad, you’re a natural. It’s me I’m worried about.” Tony smiled sadly. He always wanted to have kids and Peter knew that, but he was terrified that he would end up replicating the fucked up relationship he had with his father.

“You’re the best man I’ve ever known, Tony Stark. You’re kind and selfless and you have so much love to give. Our children will be the luckiest kids to ever exist.” Peter kissed him softly and Tony couldn’t take it, a single tear escaped his eye and he took a deep breath.

“I promise I’ll make you happy, all of you. And I will always keep you safe, and you’ll never want for anything.”

“I know.” The younger man whispered against his lips, before kissing the tip of his nose. “I love you, Tony”

“And I love you right back, kid”.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed it - if you did, please leave a comment, it would make my day <3


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